Does biking cause any injuries like running ie plantar fascitis



G

gty

Guest
I guess i mean over use injuries. I have been plagued with problems
from running. i use biking for crosstraining.
 
gty wrote:
> I guess i mean over use injuries. I have been plagued with problems
> from running. i use biking for crosstraining.
>

Well I used to run in junior high and high school, and then again in my
20's, until I finally had to give it up due to knee problems. But I find
that I can cycle with little or no pain at all.

Ken
 
gty wrote:
> I guess i mean over use injuries. I have been plagued with problems
> from running. i use biking for crosstraining.
>


It seems that not having the proper fit (riding with the seat too low,
for example) and cranking out hills instead of gearing down for them
could cause knee problems if a person is prone to them. It seems to be
an individual thing, though.
 
[email protected] wrote:

> If you get hit by a semi then cycling caused injuries


I think it's the "getting hit by a semi" that would cause the injuries
in this case, not the biking.
 
[email protected] wrote:
> If you get hit by a semi then cycling caused injuries
>


BTD (Beg To Differ).

Being hit by a semi is not part of cycling. You can be hit by a semi
while running, walking, driving. If the semi driver loses control of
his rig, you can be hit by a semi while you are sitting in your armchair
in your living room.
 
[email protected] wrote:
> If you get hit by a semi then cycling caused injuries


Lessee, using that same logic:

-If you get eaten by a shark, then surfing caused your death.

-If you're hijacked and killed by terrorists, flying caused your death.

-If you get mauled by a grizzly, backpacking caused your death.

Backpacker is a great magazine, but sometimes I wonder about the people
who have it for an e-mail address.


Bill


------------------------------------------------
| Blind faith in your leaders--or in anything-- |
| will get you killed. |
| --Bruce Springsteen |
------------------------------------------------
 
I think Big Jim meant it as a joke. So, lighten up folks. In the same
vein, I consider camping as a leading cause of having a tree fall on you.
But the main cause of death is being born.
 
gty wrote:
> I guess i mean over use injuries. I have been plagued with problems
> from running. i use biking for crosstraining.


If you do not have the seat at the correct height (within a milimeter
or two), you can get knee injuries (IT band).

Few people have legs of the same length. If you do not adjust for the
different length, you can get knee pain in one leg.

If you have too much weight on your hands (handle bars too low), you
can get carpal tunnel (I did after my 1st 44 mile ride, numbness in
left hand for 2 months).

If your handle bars are too far forward or back, it can be pretty
unfortable.

If you ride too long, you can get Schermer's neck, where the neck
muscles tire and can't hold up the head.
 
"[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

>
> gty wrote:
>> I guess i mean over use injuries. I have been plagued with problems
>> from running. i use biking for crosstraining.

>
> If you do not have the seat at the correct height (within a milimeter
> or two), you can get knee injuries (IT band).


I use the balls-of-the-feet test for seat height; is there something that
can get a seat within 2mm of where it should be?

>
> Few people have legs of the same length. If you do not adjust for the
> different length, you can get knee pain in one leg.


Do people actually get different sized left and right cranks for this, or
different thickness pedals?

>
> If you have too much weight on your hands (handle bars too low), you
> can get carpal tunnel (I did after my 1st 44 mile ride, numbness in
> left hand for 2 months).


I have the old traditional bull handlebars on the Trek, and the lower I am,
the better my weight is distributed over the bike, the faster I go, the
better the bike handles, and the more comfortable I am. Am I messing up my
wrists riding low?

>
> If your handle bars are too far forward or back, it can be pretty
> unfortable.
>
> If you ride too long, you can get Schermer's neck, where the neck
> muscles tire and can't hold up the head.


What position is your neck in to get this? On the recumbent and on the old
Metro 3-speed, my head, neck, and back are pretty much straight up and
down. on the Trek, they're usually straight front-to-back, nose pointing
down, but otherwise at about a 45 degree angle. The only time I feel
strain is when I'm down low but have to look ahead to see if there's
anything going on up the road.

Thanks for posting this list!

--ag

>
>
 
"gty" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> I guess i mean over use injuries. I have been plagued with problems
> from running. i use biking for crosstraining.
>


Hopefully, the only injuries should be to the petro-economy.

--ag
 
In article <[email protected]>,
"gty" <[email protected]> wrote:

> I guess i mean over use injuries. I have been plagued with problems
> from running. i use biking for crosstraining.


Funny you should ask. I just overcame a nasty bout of plantar fasciitis.
At its worst, I was hobbling around so lamely I took a day off work to
rest my foot.

Despite that, I was able to ride pain-free throughout the affair,
including doing 3- and 4-hour rides on Saturdays with zero pain or
aggravation. Indeed, the foot felt good on the bike.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email protected] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos
 
I have never had my hands go numb for 2 months, but my fingers do get
numb temporarily on rides that are a little under 2 hours. What is
this caused by?
 
Tim Nunes wrote:
> I have never had my hands go numb for 2 months, but my fingers do get
> numb temporarily on rides that are a little under 2 hours. What is
> this caused by?


I'm not a doctor, but I have contacts in medical personnel. Here's
what I'm told:

Almost certainly, the numbness is caused by pressure on the nerves
going to the fingers. As I understand it, the pressure could be
anywhere along the nerve - that is, from the spine on down.

Some people get this from pressure in or on the carpal tunnel - at
about the groove between your palm and your wrist. But I know a person
who gets the same symptom when she rides too long with her neck in a
"head forward" posture. She has to remember to move her neck around,
and sort of tuck her chin back, to straighten her neck.

Supposedly, you can get this from problems in the shoulder joint or
elbow joint too, if there are inflamed tendons or other abnormalities
that press on the nerve.

A doctor might try prescribing some sort of anti-inflammatory, hoping
to reduce whatever inflammation is causing pressure. A physical
therapist might try to have you do carefully chosen exercises, to build
up muscle strength or otherwise loosen the offending joint. Or you
might try both. In some severe cases, they do surgery for problems
like this.

At least, that's what I've heard. But you need to hear first hand from
someone who's not just an internet hobbiest!

- Frank Krygowski
 
Tim Nunes wrote:
> I have never had my hands go numb for 2 months, but my fingers do get
> numb temporarily on rides that are a little under 2 hours. What is
> this caused by?
>

I sometimes get a little numb on rides longer than 2 hours. I noticed
that it has a lot to do with hand positions. I have flat bars with
bar-ends and if I remember to rotate positions often enough the numbness
is not so bad. And not enough to keep me from riding. Try to change and
positions every few minutes.

Ken
 
Ken M wrote:
> Tim Nunes wrote:
> > I have never had my hands go numb for 2 months, but my fingers do get
> > numb temporarily on rides that are a little under 2 hours. What is
> > this caused by?
> >

> I sometimes get a little numb on rides longer than 2 hours. I noticed
> that it has a lot to do with hand positions. I have flat bars with
> bar-ends and if I remember to rotate positions often enough the numbness
> is not so bad. And not enough to keep me from riding. Try to change and
> positions every few minutes.


This should help.

I move my hands very frequently. Drop bars have five "official" hand
positions, but I've got probably ten that I regularly use.

- Frank Krygowski
 
"Tim Nunes" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I have never had my hands go numb for 2 months, but my fingers do get
> numb temporarily on rides that are a little under 2 hours. What is
> this caused by?


Is it just your pinkie, ring and maybe middle fingers? If so, it could be
ulnar nerve neuropathy, popularly called "handlebar palsy". I started to
have problems with this two years ago when training for a double century.

After talking to my doctor, and reading about it (put ulnar nerve or
handlebar palsy in a search engine) and working to counteract it, here's
what I recommend:

o Make sure you have your wrists positioned properly: you always want your
wrists straight and your elbows bent. (When I did water aerobics we called
this "Barbie arms" after the 11.5 inch fashion doll -- you want to have a
loose feeling in your arms, not a stiff one.) Especially check yourself when
you're riding with your hands on the tops of your drop bars. It's especially
important to have this sort of loose feeling in your arms when riding over
bumps -- I know this from riding on the road and going over potholes.

o Make sure your bike fits well. Typical fit problems that can lead you to
lean on your hands with the wrists bent include: pointing the nose of your
saddle down too much, having the seat too high, or having too long of a
stem.

o Make sure you have lots of gel in your gloves. Every time I've used a bad
set of gloves for a while the numbness returns.

o Change your hand position frequently. Aerobars could help with this I
suppose, but just changing from being in the drops, tops, and hoods help.
See: http://www.cptips.com/handsyn.htm for a description of this problem;
http://www.cultv.com/music/rssi.htm shows stretches to combat the problem
(from a guitarist's viewpoint, but still relevant);
http://www.hughston.com/hha/a_15_3_2.htm shows how the problem develops from
improper hand positioning on the bike.


--
Warm Regards,


Claire Petersky
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky
 
[email protected] wrote:
> Ken M wrote:
>
>>Tim Nunes wrote:
>>
>>>I have never had my hands go numb for 2 months, but my fingers do get
>>>numb temporarily on rides that are a little under 2 hours. What is
>>>this caused by?
>>>

>>
>>I sometimes get a little numb on rides longer than 2 hours. I noticed
>>that it has a lot to do with hand positions. I have flat bars with
>>bar-ends and if I remember to rotate positions often enough the numbness
>>is not so bad. And not enough to keep me from riding. Try to change and
>>positions every few minutes.

>
>
> This should help.
>
> I move my hands very frequently. Drop bars have five "official" hand
> positions, but I've got probably ten that I regularly use.
>
> - Frank Krygowski
>

Yeah drop bars do have more positions. And when I was riding a bike with
that style bar I had no problems with hand numbness at all.

Ken
 
Claire Petersky wrote:
> "Tim Nunes" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >I have never had my hands go numb for 2 months, but my fingers do get
> > numb temporarily on rides that are a little under 2 hours. What is
> > this caused by?

>
> Is it just your pinkie, ring and maybe middle fingers? If so, it could be
> ulnar nerve neuropathy, popularly called "handlebar palsy". I started to
> have problems with this two years ago when training for a double century.


Hey, me too...

Got it once real bad on my left hand (took a month to fully go away)
after my first metric century possibly because it was my first time
spending a whole day on the bike, possibly because the handlebar tape
and brakes needed a smidge of adjusting.

And, I've got it on the left hand right now. I've had the butterfly
bars on my bike for two days now. First 25 kilometers with those bars
I had bad bad wrist/arm pain and issues with control (then we switched
stems) but no numbness. Numbness showed up on yesterday's riding (30
kilometers) and again on today's (10 kilometers) and is annoying me
right now. The wrench did fuss with my lefthand brake and shifter so
that might be fix it.

-M
 

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